I have mentioned before that my 8 year old has struggled with certain aspects of learning. He’s a very bright boy with tons of creativity, so it really surprised me when I began to notice he just wasn’t catching on as quickly as most of the other children, including his younger brother. It was difficult to come to terms with this as a mother, but I was determined to stick with it and find a way to get him over the “hump” and into a love of reading.

First of all, I slowed WAY down on his studies. I gave him about a month long break from the two subjects that were giving him the most trouble. This allowed him time to relax and gave me time to find resources. When we started back up, it was at a much slower pace. I took a week on concepts that were taking the other kids a day or so. I reviewed every chance I got, and I also gave him room to breathe and mull over the things he was learning. Read more...

My lone high schooler is 16. She’s highly creative and very passionate. She is NOT a typical kid – never has been. Her high school curriculum reflects these differences while still staying within the parameters of our state’s graduation requirements.

Her Monday starts the same as the other kids – with the PictureSmart Bible. She likes to try different techniques of shading or color in her pictures, and she always puts a lot of thought into her work. The other days she sits in on the story Bible and read-aloud and then heads to her computer to start her academic day.

She starts with Teaching Textbooks Geometry. This will be her last math credit of her high school career. She will need a College Algebra credit for her degree (ASL Interpreting), but we have not decided if she will take concurrent classes at our local college or wait. Read more...

I have 2 middle schoolers – a boy and a girl who are 16 months apart in age. My son, who is the younger of the two, was non-verbal until about age 3½, and did not form complete and coherent sentences until much later. While you cannot tell now that he ever had a speech issue, he is not at his grade level because I took things very slow with him in the beginning. That said, I’m not much for grade levels anyway, but felt it might explain some of our curriculum choices for this age.

This year, I have 2 boys in elementary school. They are ages 6 and 8, and neck and neck in their academics. They are different personalities, but best buddies.

My older son is very artistic and creative. We have a had a bit of slow start with his phonics and math, but have seen great strides in the past 6 months. My younger son is a very quick learner and has sped through this past year’s lessons, thus putting him only slightly behind his older brother. So far, this has not posed a problem, but we shall see if I need to address it with either them in the upcoming school year.

As I mentioned in my preschool curriculum post, my older boys will be joining in many of the lessons and activities from our preschool time. I think they will benefit greatly from it, and it will be some fun time spent with my younger crowd – something I feel I don’t do enough of. Read more...

I have a 4 year old. A very busy 4 year old. His name is Creed, and he is cute as a button (which has saved him from being eaten many times), but he’s always on the move, and often at the expense of his brothers and sisters.

Not too long ago, the older (more mature) members of our family had a meeting all about our little “Crazy Creed.” We needed to structure his day, and we needed everyone over the age of 10 on board with the plan. If you follow me on Instagram (@amyraisingarrows), you might have seen the photo of my journal with Operation Occupy Creed and his schedule written in it. If not, here’s that photo… Read more...

When you can’t make it to a homeschool convention, the next best thing is a curriculum sale! And THIS curriculum sale is the biggest of its kind!

I don’t want to overwhelm you by sharing every single detail of the 20 pre-made bundles that include hundreds of dollars worth of curriculum and resources from Charlotte Mason to High School to Homemaking and everything in between. I don’t want to stress you out by listing all 234 of the classes, ebooks, resources, planners, unit studies, etc available in this limited time sale. And I don’t want to tell you which 2 bundles to buy so you can get your 3rd one FREE because I don’t know exactly what you need for your homeschool, BUT… Read more...

Homeschool curriculum buying season is in full swing. If you’re like me, you try to hold out and wait until you can find the absolute best deal before making purchases. Well, friends, I’m here to tell you that time is NOW!

BUT- what if I told you that I can make curriculum shopping even easier on your budget this year?! Now, I’ve got your attention, right?!

I’ve teamed up with some of my very best homeschool blogging friends and I’m very excited to announce that one of you will win a $400 Build Your Bundle Gift Certificate!!! YES! $400 will definitely help your homeschool budget go a lot farther. This $400 Gift Certificate can be used on ANY purchase from the 2017 Build Your Bundle sale!! Can you say “curriculum shopping spree”?! How fun is that?! Read more...

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Just 11 short days after this photo was taken, our 5th child, Emily, died. To read her story click on her picture. To find resources for grieving families, visit The Grieving Mother section of this site.